REMEMBERING ONE OF HAMMER FILMS NICEST MEN : TUESDAY TOUGHIE : WINNERS OF CINEFICCION!

REMEMBERING: A wonderful actor and special guy, RALPH BATES. Sadly, no longer with us, and died today in 1991. A talented actor and a truly gentle and kind man.

THE GREAT, GREAT nephew of the renowned French scientist Louis Pasteur developed into a strangely handsome dark haired, pale complexioned English actor. Ralph Bates was born in 1940 in Bristol, England and attended the University of Dublin and studied at the Yale Drama School. His dramatic talents first came to audiences attention playing the evil Emperor Caligula in the well received BBC TV series The Caesars (1968). However, the Hammer studios resurrection of the horror genre was then in full stride, and Bates was soon engulfed in the swirling cloak of Hammer's success as he appeared in several horror films in quick succession.

FIRSTLY IN A SUPPORT role as demonic Lord Courtley in Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), followed as the lead character Baron Frankenstein in The Horror of Frankenstein (1970), then as Giles Barton in the sexy Lust for a Vampire (1971) and as the well meaning Dr. Jekyll in an unusual spin on the Robert Louis Stevenson story in Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971) and 'Fear in the Night' with Peter Cushing in 1972. Bates brought a new zest to Hammer and with his stylish dialogue delivery and film acting methods, he quickly won himself quite a few fans in both critics and regular film goers!

UNFORTUNATELY, by the early 1970s there had been a downturn in Hammer studios fortunes, and Bates then found himself turning to more traditional character work in other production houses and he appeared in several films before snaring other superb villainous role as George Warleggan in the 18th century period piece Poldark (1975).

AFTER POLDARK, Bates himself kept busy in a few forgettable UK made TV shows and television film roles which did not really do justice to his remarkable talents. In the late 1980s his health rapidly deteriorated, and he sadly passed away from cancer aged only 51 on 27th March 1991. 

BELOW OUR ANSWER to LAST WEEKS TUESDAY TOUGHIE!

ANSWER: THE ACTORS who Peter Cushing worked with BETWEEN 1956 and 1959 who became KNIGHTED were MICHAEL REDGRAVE in TIME WITHOUT PITY (1957) , CHRISTOPHER LEE in a whole range of feature films, STANLEY BAKER in VIOLENT PLAYGROUND (1958) and JOHN MILLS in END OF THE AFFAIR (released 1956)

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY! HERE ARE OUR LUCKY FOUR winners to the competition we held LAST WEEK! YOUR magazine will be with you shortly. IF ytou did not supply a postal address where you would like your prizes mailed to, PLEASE contact me at the PCAS email. AGAIN thank you everyone who took part and entered AND many thanks to DARIO at CINEFICCION for those prize copies! HERE is where you can ORDER YOUR copy too!  ANOTHER COMPETITION LATER THIS WEEK! KEEP LOOKING IN!

JOHN CARPENTER ON HAMMER CURSE AND REMEMBERING SIR JOHN MILLS AS DR JOHN WATSON

#TBT #THROWBACKTHURSDAY! Here's a clip we edited for Callum McKelvie's first Weekend Double feature, on Hammer films, The Curse of Frankenstein and Revenge of Frankenstein, with 'Halloween' director, John Carpenter sharing his thoughts on one of his all time favorite Hammer films... 🙂 It's great when established directors give credit to work that influenced them . . .Tim Burton and Martin Scorsese have all stepped up and doffed their caps...

TODAY WE MARK THE BIRTH of one, Lewis Ernest Watts Mills... or as we knew and loved him... Sir John Mills. He was without doubt, one of our most popular and beloved English actors and born today February 22nd 1908. In a career that stretched over eight decades, Mills appeared in over 120 films, debuting in 1932 in 'Midshipmaid Gob' right up until 2009 in 'The Snow Prince'. Many of his roles like Pip in 'Great Expectations' in 1946, Shorty Blake 'In Which We Serve' in 42, Captain Scott in 'Scott of the Antarctic' in 48 and the alcohol troubled Captain Anson in 'Ice Cold in Alex' in 58 would make him an internationally renowned star.

MILL APPEARED IN TWO FILMS with Peter Cushing, the first in 1976 entitled 'Trial by Combat' aka 'A Dirty Knight's Work' as Sir Edward Gifford. It was no more than a guest appearance, slotted in when another project on Cushing's slate fell through. The second though, was a much grander enterprise with Tyburn films and marked Cushing's return to the character of Sherlock Holmes...and Mills as Watson! They made a terrific team as a much older duo, so impressive was the chemistry that another Cushing /Mills / Sherlock film from Tyburn was planned entitled 'The Abbot's Cry', but was scuppered owing to Cushing's fragile health.

LIKE CUSHING, Mills was in his private life a sensitive romantic, in January 2001 at the age of 92, he and wife Mary, age 89, renewed their marriage vows at St. Mary's Church, next to their home, Hills House, in Denham, England. When they had wed 60 years earlier, he was denied a church service because he was serving in the Army during World War II. Happy Birthday, Sir John!

REMEMBER! IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll  love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.  Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help us . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA

#CUSHINGGIFWEDESDAY! RUNNING RUNNING AND THAT STARE THAT LAUNCHED A THOUSAND STARES!

YOU HAVE TO GIVE CREDIT TO Peter Cushing, when the script said 'run' HE RAN! This clip is from Hammer films, 'Frankenstein Created Woman' Here he displays the same athletic pace that graced the screen in the chase scene in DRACULA (1958) The Brides of Dracula (1960) . . . even up to Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell in 1974. I guess all those early morning dips in the cold sea, outside his front door in Whitstable kept him very fit indeed!

THIS GIF and the one below perfectly illustrates why DESPITE having a misleading TITLE actually WAS a very worthy sequel to Hammer films 'DRACULA / THE HORROR OF DRACULA' Incredible sets, glass matte work, maybe a playing of Cushing's VAN HELSING that has an even better edge and a fablous cast. 'THE BRIDES OF DRACULA' . . .

THE BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960): This gif is a lesson in expert framing and direction. From The Brides of Dracula, again like the last GIF Cushing is on the move. If you take a look at everything going on in this hot, today they would cover all that action with about four shots and two cut aways, in order to create drama with fast editing. Director Terence Fisher didn't NEED to do that. The skill here is all about WHERE to place the camera to get it all ion ONE shot, so not losing the drama and the energy, we can see everything and the timing is al

THIS WAS A TECHNIQUE that for HAMMER FILMS started in their 'DRACULA / HORROR OF DRACULA ' (1958) The CLOSE UP shot of the VAMPIRE EYES followed by the victims. There wasn't a VAMPIRE film after the 58, that didn't feature it! It's even more effective, when  those eyes belonged to the beautiful, YVONNE MONLAUR . . 

REMEMBER! IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll  love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.  Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help us . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA  

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: RUMBA IN THE CASABA : TERROR TRAIN FILM LINE UP

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: Peter Cushing publicity photographs : #HAMMERFILMS 'She' (1965) I think Peter had a good time while making Hammer films EPIC 'SHE' and unlike everyone else who either got shot in the butt, lost a finger, suffered from horrendous dysentery and dehydration when filming in Israel's Negev Desert in August 1964, Cushing looked like he was having a great time! Helen, Peter's wife also accompanied him on the location shoot, which made a happy time for relaxation, water colour painting and reading..... when Cushing got back to the UK and shooting picked up at Elstree studios, he also got to strut-his-stuff in a dance sequence in the Casaba! See blow in thread

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: Here's a photograph, you certainly couldn't take today! The cast of the #AMICUS film 'Dr Terror House of Horrors' (1965) ! Spot the guy at the back.... Yikes!

IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll  love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.  Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help us . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA 

YET MORE GREAT GIFS AND COOL STUFF FOR A TUESDAY!

It's #TOOCOOLTUESDAY and as always, here is a collection of random yet, connected items, brought to you because of their association with the ever so cool, Mr Peter Cushing...!

WE SHARED this RARE archive photograph on the PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE TODAY, and asked our friends and followers, who was it posing with 'the wigs', beard and ....missing tooth?

THE ANSWER can be revealed in the photograph above and the banner at the top of this post... they are none other than, stars of 'AT THE EARTH'S CORE' Caroline Munro and Doug McClure, wearing the wigs and beards that would be worn by the actors who would play the 'primitive cave people' in the film. Though the 'missing front tooth' of Mr McClure, is quite genuine!

TRIVIA: Peter Cushing for much of his professional life, from 1948 onwards, wore a front denture. It's mentioned in his autobiography that he lost the original tooth, playing rugby! A bit of publicity spin there, I am afraid. Cushing suffered a tooth infection, just before his shooting of Osric in Olivier's film, 'Hamlet'. In fact, loosing the tooth came in handy during the making of the BBC production of George Orwell's '1984' in 1954. Never one to miss an opportunity to use props, some business, or indeed anything that would add authenticity to his performance, Cushing REMOVED his 'one tooth plate'  for the horrifying 'Room 101' scenes in the climax of the television drama. It really enhances his emaciated and broken appearance. Vanity never got in the way, of Cushing's quest in perfecting a role...and how cool, is THAT?

Here's another selection of GIF'S that have appeared on the Peter Cushing Appreciation Society Facebook Fan Page over the past few days, giving us our EIGHTH PCAS GIF GALLERY!

..AND HERE, is some MORE Caroline Munro! This time as the poor Laura Beddows in Hammer films, DRACULA AD 1972  with Christopher Lee. It doesn't end well, I am afraid....

FROM THE SAME Hammer film, Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, not for the first time, is locked in a struggle to once again destroy the Count, and in this shot..not doing too well...

When not slapping around vampire hunters, biting faire maidens, Christopher Lee was the meekest of men. And here, we see him at home in 1974 with his wife, Birgit and daughter, Christina, in the cutest of family scenes. This shot was featured in the documentary, 'In Search of Dracula' (1974) in which Lee himself goes in search of the origins of the bloody Count!

Peter Cushing once again in the role of a vampire hunter, with a twist. This, one Gustav Weil, belongs to a merry band of called the 'Brotherhood' who see it as their job to rid the town of surge of vampires and  one in particular called, Count Karnstein, there's that name again, played by Damian Thomas, in his one and only role for Hammer films in 'TWINS OF EVIL'. By this time, Hammer were finding it hard to keep the ol 'vampire fire a-burning' so new and ever more inventive plots and schemes had to be invented, when Christopher Lee, dig in his heels and said a very firm, NO! What they came up with in this case, is one of the very best deviations. TWINS, beautiful one's at that, played by the quite credible Collinson sisters, Mary and Madeline. Yet again, all certainly doesn't end well in this saga either, with the final reel playing out like a Greek tragedy. With death, destruction and the offing of even poor ol Peter, it's enough to make anyone, loose their head!  

HAMMER FILMS had been toying with the idea of following the Universal Frankenstein films track, as far back as 1959, when the REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN , switched themes from 'creating a woman' to unleashing a killer with a  taste for human flesh, a cannibal  creation, instead. It took a few years for the subject to re-emerge, as 'FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN'  in 1967. The woman was the lovely, Susan Denberg, who keep the body count going while keep the dirty mac brigade happy at the same time...and still does! 

 

AND FINALLY, a shot from a film that sadly, when released joined the party, when the music had stopped, the last of the booze had gone and everyone was collecting their platform shoes and bomber jackets from the cloakroom! Tigon films, tale of terror, sadly came on the tail end of the horror film craze in the UK, and never received the attention it so deserved! 'THE CREEPING FLESH', despite it's hacky title, is a great little film, with knock out performances from Lee and Cushing...and the BIGGEST skeleton you've ever seen..if you don't count, Victoria Beckham! 

Amicus had already made 'THE SKULL' in 1965, a SKULL WITH NO BODY, floating around for revenge, now Tigon tapped into the, SKULL WITH A BODY, also lightly floating around and seeking revenge. Revenge, for quite a silly reason really, as was scriptwriters wants back in the day, if the plot had to be about revenge, it was driven sometimes by the flimsiest of reasons. And this film, falls into that ditch. BUT, it is still is head and shoulders, above most fantasy films of this time... definitely worth catching, and is WELL over due it's release on blu ray...are you listening Twilight Time???

MORE COOL STUFFS, NEXT TUESDAY....how cool is that? 

Written by Marcus Brooks.

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